Temenos and Bain Identify Technology Megatrends Redefining the Future of Banking

Report highlights banks’ shift to cloud core modernization, responsible AI adoption, digital experience monetization, and expansion beyond traditional finance  

Temenos, a global leader in banking technology, today unveiled Technology Trends Redefining the Future of Banking, a collaborative industry assessment with Bain & Company, revealing the technology trends set to reshape global banking across retail, SME, corporate, wealth, and payments.  

Based on industry perspectives from Temenos and Bain, combined with insights from the Temenos Value Benchmark, the report shows banks making decisive shifts. They are modernizing core banking systems in the cloud and improving their data structures to underpin intelligent services. They are moving from building digital experiences to monetizing them. They are also navigating the move to digital ecosystems beyond traditional finance.   

William Moroney, Chief Revenue Officer, Temenos, commented: “Technology has become central to how banks earn trust, compete, and grow. Those treating technology as a strategic asset are pulling ahead, while others are finding it increasingly difficult to keep pace. This report highlights where value is emerging and outlines the technology decisions shaping the future of banking.”  

Joseph Edwin, Partner at Bain & Company, said: “Banks are entering a decisive period where technology choices will determine competitiveness for years to come. Bain’s work across the sector shows that the winners will be those that modernize the core, adopt cloud-native architecture, and build governed data and security foundations that allow AI to scale safely.”   

The Temenos report highlights five megatrends shaping banks’ technology priorities for 2026 and beyond:  

1. Responsible AI in Banking Starts with a Trusted Core: As global guidance and legislation continue to evolve, some financial institutions are gravitating towards approaches such as the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which allow AI to securely retrieve context and data from core systems and external services without duplicating data or embedding logic into models. This strengthens governance and regulatory alignment.  

2. Cloud, SaaS and Data Mesh Underpin the Intelligent Bank: Banks are accelerating the adoption of cloud native architectures and SaaS platforms to scale efficiently and reduce reliance on legacy systems. But while data remains a critical asset, it is often fragmented, hard to access and over a fifth (21%) duplicated. This is driving adoption of data mesh architectures to organize data and unlock real‑time, AI‑driven value.  

3. AI Agents Transform Complex Corporate Banking Processes: Corporate and commercial banking is shifting away from manual, bespoke processes as AI agents begin orchestrating workflows such as deal structuring, compliance checks, and documentation. At the same time, treasurers expect real‑time visibility into liquidity and payments, driving modernization of API‑driven channels and core infrastructure.  

4. Stablecoins expand into real-world use cases: Stablecoins are evolving from crypto plumbing into a credible settlement and liquidity rail for targeted banking and payments flows. While not replacing existing systems, they are becoming strategically relevant - particularly for cross‑border, liquidity, and wholesale use cases - creating long‑term opportunity and short‑term complexity for banks.   

5. Hyper Personalization Redefines Retail and SME Banking: AI and behavioral data are driving rapid growth in hyper‑personalization, enabling banks to deliver more relevant, real‑time offers and deepen customer engagement. With an average of just 2.59 products per customer, this represents a significant opportunity to increase share of wallet.